The Section of General Academic Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine is one of the largest sections within the Department of Pediatrics, offering expert clinical care at Brenner Children's Hospital and the Downtown Health Plaza Pediatric Clinic in Winston-Salem, NC.
Our section includes specialists and researchers in Adolescent Medicine, Pediatric Obesity and Weight Management, Newborn Medicine, and Community Health and Advocacy.
Mission - Our mission is to provide excellent patient care, education, and advocacy for our patients and learners in a supportive and welcoming environment.
Education and Training
We offer specialized education in primary care pediatrics, newborn medicine, community leadership, and advocacy. Our programs are designed to provide hands-on experience and mentorship. We are dedicated to fostering a culture of lifelong learning and professional development.
Our faculty train both the Pediatric and Family Medicine residents, as well as the Pediatric Emergency Department fellows at Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist in addition to educating Wake Forest medical students.
Located on Winston Salem's east side, we serve the community with a holistic approach. We are situated within a multi-disciplinary clinic alongside Internal Medicine and OB/GYN, allowing us to care for whole families.
The Pediatric clinic provides comprehensive well-child and acute care from birth through age 19, including immunizations, routine physical exams, mental health care, and care for children with special health care needs. In addition, we offer virtual visits and 24/7 nurse triage.
Services Embedded Within Our Clinic
- Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC)
- Imprints Cares
- Behavioral/Mental Health Integrated specialists
- Dermatology
- Child Psychiatry
- Pharmacy
- Lab
- Radiology
- Language Interpretation services
Family Advocacy Initiatives
- On-site food pantry and community health workers specializing in WIC and SNAP enrollment
- Menstrual poverty screening and supplies
- Reach Out and Read
- Medical Legal Partnership
- Assistance with transportation to medical appointments
- Assistance with payment for some medications
- Screening resources for health-related social needs
Located within the Birth Center at Brenner Children’s Hospital, our team of physicians and APPs provides evidence-based comprehensive care for over 3,000 newborns annually. In addition to clinical care, we are dedicated to educating the next generation of residents and medical students.
Beyond our core values of care and education, we further our advocacy and research mission in this location. We actively participate in the Perinatal Quality Improvement Collaborative of North Carolina (PQCNC) and the Better Outcomes through Research Network (BORN) through the Academic Pediatric Association.
Our team continually runs unit-based multidisciplinary Quality Improvement (QI) and research projects in collaboration with nursing staff, ancillary services, obstetrics, family medicine, and neonatology colleagues.
Key Initiatives and Research Areas
- Improving outcomes for late preterm infants
- Screening and supporting families with social drivers of health (specifically intimate partner violence and food insecurity)
- Car seat and firearm safety advocacy
- Comprehensive lactation support
- Improving care for families with pregnancies complicated by substance use disorder
- Home visiting programs for urban and rural populations
Adolescent Medicine is included in the section of General Academic Pediatrics. Our adolescent medicine subspecialists are located in the Brenner Children's Hospital outpatient clinics. Read more about the important clinical and academic work that is happening in this field.
Research and Scholarly Activity
Alongside clinical care, our section includes physician, APP, and PhD faculty who are involved in research and quality improvement projects. We have ongoing research in the following areas:
- Health-related social needs, with a specific focus on food insecurity
- Obesity prevention and treatment
- Early childhood development, literacy, and readiness for school
- Early relational health
- Health services research
- Biomedical informatics
- Artificial intelligence
- Vaccinations
- Medical Education
General Academic Pediatric Fellowship
The Wake Forest General Academic Pediatric Fellowship is designed for physicians trained in pediatrics or related fields who wish to pursue an academic career related to the health and healthcare of children. In some cases, research training can be combined with clinical training in a pediatric subspecialty.
